Banff on edge as hunt for rogue cougar intensifies (with video)

Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald05.29.2013

A Parks Canada team tracking possible cougar scents, led by houndsman Brent Sinclair, front, along with park resources management officers John Kellas and Jenn Reimer, approach the end of the closed trail near Marmot Crescent on Tuesday.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

Kaleb Roy, age 8, lower, and friend Kevyn Bosse-Scott, 9, peek out the door of their Marmot Crescent home on Tuesday.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

A Parks Canada team tracking cougar scents, led by houndsman Brent Sinclair, along with park resource management officers John Kellas and Jenn Reimer, walks behind a ribbon of warning tape near the end of the closed trail near Marmot Crescent in Banff on Tuesday.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

A 12 gauge shotgun and pepper spray are among the tools carried by a Parks Canada park resources management team patrolling for signs of a cougar on a trail at Marmot Crescent on Tuesday in Banff. Repeated sightings and a reported cougar attack have forced trail closures leading towards the town industrial park and left residents on edge.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

Houndsman Brent Sinclair prepares to set off with his dogs on a closed trail near Marmot Crescent in Banff on Tuesday searching for cougar scents. Repeated sightings and a reported cougar attack have forced trail closures leading towards the town industrial park.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

Signs mark one of the closed trails near Marmot Crescent on Tuesday in Banff. Repeated sightings and a reported cougar attack have forced trail closures leading towards the town industrial park and left residents on edge.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

BANFF — In this mountain town, where locals are often unfazed by wildlife, a predatory cougar has led to a heightened sense of awareness for residents as officials with hounds continue to track the elusive animal.

Late last week, a man was walking through a wooded area between the town and its industrial compound when a cougar knocked him down. He fought it off with his skateboard, hitting the animal in the head.

The man, who has only been identified as a local, was wearing earbuds and carrying a backpack. He was not injured in the attack.

Since then, there have been half a dozen sightings of cougars, including one chasing a deer in a resident’s backyard and two early morning sightings this week.

Banff is cougar country, but the attack led to a large closure on the north side of the townsite and put some of its residents on edge.

“My main concern is the kids,” said Suzanne Roy, who lives in a condo complex along the wooded area where a cougar has been spotted. “You just have to keep them close to you and keep the dogs with us and make sure they are on a leash and, if they start barking like crazy, then we go home.”

Her eight-year old son, Kaleb, said he’s “a bit nervous.”

Roy said she and her roommate also look over their shoulders more when they come home from work late at night.

“When we park and then get out of the car, we have to look around and make sure there is no cougar lurking in the trees above us,” she said. “We then walk quickly and get in the house.

“That’s the only time it really creeps me out,” Roy said.

On Banff Avenue, where it’s mostly tourists, the talk on the streets is as likely to be about embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford as the cougar on the edge of town.

Shawn Mills, who works at a downtown skateboard shop, said it’s mostly the locals buzzing about the cougar.

In his case, he’s changed his daily routine as he goes from work to his apartment near Whiskey Creek.

“Last night, I was walking home and definitely did not go through the path,” said Mills. “I took the road with lights.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh, it’s going to get me.’”

Both Mills and Roy say they realize the wildlife is a part of living in Banff, but admit they’re feeling nervous with a cougar stalking the area.

They have good reason.

In the woods behind their homes, houndsman Brent Sinclair and his three dogs — Mader, Sam and Kate — have been patrolling the area daily since Saturday when it was closed by parks officials.

“We haven’t found any real solid evidence that a cougar has been here in the area,” he said, noting they are searching the closed area and checking out spots where a cougar could hide. “If the cougar has been there in a short time, it’s a rapid race.

“But if hours have gone by, you can work really slow and just let the dogs continue to pick up the scent.”

The search was hampered Tuesday by showers.

“In the rainy conditions, it’s really hard because it washes the scent away,” said Sinclair, who is on contract with Parks Canada.

Still, the search will continue for a few more days and the area will remain closed until further notice.

“We’ve had two new sightings in the last 24 hours,” said Bill Hunt, manager of resource conservation with the Banff field unit. “One was a cougar in the area that we have closed, just backing on to the residential area, in the early hours of (Monday) morning.

“The other one was a cougar near the recreation grounds, where the stables are — a cougar under a picnic table.”

The dogs have searched the areas, but were unable to pick up the scent of any cougars.

“They are elusive,” said Hunt, noting the dog teams are fairly confident there isn’t an animal in the closed area at this point.

Should they find a cougar, they will immobilize it and assess its health by checking its body condition and teeth. It could be destroyed if it’s deemed unhealthy, said Hunt.

In a meantime, Hunt asked anyone who sees a cougar in or around Banff to report it immediately.

“We encourage people to call us 24/7,” he said, noting dispatchers work around the clock. “As soon as we get those reports, we will get a crew on that immediately to try to get on that trail and follow that animal.”

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